Referring to psychological therapy services in secondary NHS mental health services – how do mental health care professionals decide?

Fiddick, Lucy, Neale, Emily, Nathwani, Falguni, Bennert, Kristina and Gregory, James 2020. Referring to psychological therapy services in secondary NHS mental health services – how do mental health care professionals decide? Mental Health Review Journal 25 (2) , pp. 185-196. 10.1108/MHRJ-04-2019-0013

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Abstract

Purpose Evidence-based psychological therapies are available for severe and enduring mental health problems, but resources and access to these are limited within England. Practitioners in community mental health teams (CMHTs) can act as gatekeepers for access to psychological therapies for those in secondary care, but little is known about how they make referral decisions. This paper aims to understand how CMHT practitioners make decisions about who to refer or not, to secondary care psychological therapy services (PTS). Design/methodology/approach A total of 11 CMHT practitioners were interviewed to understand the decision making processes underpinning their referrals or otherwise, to a PTS within NHS England. The data were analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis. Findings Thematic analysis resulted in 11 sub-themes under three main themes of the self, the organisation and wider structure and the service user. Results indicated that some participants were referred automatically for psychological therapy if a service user asked or if there was external pressure to refer, while others’ decisions were informed by contextual information such as the service user’s ability to engage or change, risk status and limited organisational resources. Originality/value This study explores the decision making of multi-disciplinary professionals referring to PTS. The findings have important implications for understanding some of the factors that can influence patient access to psychological treatment in secondary care.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	Emerald
ISSN:	1361-9322
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 May 2021
Last Modified:	09 Nov 2023 16:40
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/140947

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